Assisting a Hero
by Skip Sandwich
Summary: A sudden blackout in Smash Mansion, along with the theft of Samus's famed power suit, sets all the Smashers on edge. Something bigger is going on here, but for now, it remains a mystery...


Samus pushed aside the front door of the Smash Mansion. The gears of her power suit whirred as she moved. It was late, though the mansion's halls were lit only dimly; the sculpted glass lights pulsed with a strange electricity as she walked.

She knew what she was doing. This was a path she had taken thousands of times before: turn right, enter a new corridor, turn left, then left again. Then she would arrive at her room, relax for a while. She had participated in a tournament earlier that day, and now her movements were sluggish and her mind, unalert.

She hadn't been prepared. So she didn't expect the lights to go off. And she didn't expect that a robot would barrel into the hall, wrench the helmet off her power suit, and place a cloth over her nose and mouth.

The cloth reeked of something sour and extremely chemical.

For a moment, Samus thought she saw two white rectangles flash before her. Then she couldn't see anything at all.

* * *

A lone figure wandered through the now-unlit hallways. He was certain no one would remember his face, much less his name. Sometimes his obscurity bothered him, but today it would work to his advantage.

Under his arm he carried a bag that had been swollen to grotesque proportions. Inside he had stuffed a plethora of metal parts and wires. He intended to use them in an experiment he was planning. But he needed something else first...

* * *

The Smash Mansion's sudden blackout surprised all of its residents, but it only truly alarmed one.

Pikachu huddled by the building's electricity generator, struck by the unshakable feeling that something was not quite right. The fluorescent Pokemon couldn't place a reason to the blackout. It hadn't been raining; the sky was a still blue. And it didn't seem like someone had accidentally flicked a switch. As far as Pikachu could tell, the generator was still switched to ON, but something small and vital within its inner workings had probably been damaged. Or removed.

The blackout had to have been caused by someone who definitely knew what he or she was doing.

* * *

Samus groaned and moved a hand weakly to her nose and mouth. The cloth was no longer there, but - she surveyed her surroundings - her friends were.

A group of Smashers had formed around her, discussing the situation in hushed voices; thankfully, they all stood at a reasonable distance from Samus herself, so not to overwhelm her.

After a few seconds, Samus forced herself to stand up, expecting the whir of delicate gears to accompany her motions.

There was nothing but silence. By now all the congregated Smashers were looking at her with varying degrees of sympathy.

The emptiness gnawed at Samus's nerves. "Well," she said. "Someone took my power suit, didn't they."

"But we don't know anything," piped up Kirby. "And it's kinda hard to do anything about it right now. The power's out. Also, the food."

Lucario spoke up. "Pikachu thinks someone's tinkered with the electrical generator, though. And I suspect that the blackout and the theft of your power suit are somehow connected. We could follow these paths, but it's getting late, and somebody" - he cast a sideways glance at Kirby - "has eaten all our food."

"I'll put in orders for more food, let it ship overnight," muttered Peach. Many of the Smashers around Samus were leaving to their rooms, but Peach was one of the some who stayed. "You're okay, right, Samus? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," answered Samus in the toughest voice she could muster. "You go on. I'll go to my room later."

Samus's feet sank into the mansion's ornate plush carpet as she turned toward one of the places she knew best: the advanced weaponry room. She breathed a faint sigh of relief when she reached the correct hallway, and placed her palm on the door, letting the metal cool her skin. The advanced weaponry room contained swords with blades made of plasma rather than metal, and high-tech guns that settled lightly in her hand. Samus knew she needed an effective weapon to replace her power suit, and this was the place she could get it.

* * *

Ness idly turned a globe of glowing PSI energy in his hand as he slouched on the sofa in his room. He knew it was late - his clock read almost midnight - but his undying curiosity hungered for more information. Who had caused the blackout? Was it one of the Smashers, those he had come to know and (mostly) trust? If so, which one was it?

His mind buzzing, Ness grabbed a battered school notebook and flipped to an unused page. In nearly illegible handwriting, he wrote a list of all the Smashers he suspected.

_1. Snake - he's good with technology. Maybe he also stole the power suit, but he already has like fifty other weapons..._  
_2. Captain Falcon - he could also pull this off, but he isn't as smart as Snake. _  
_3. Mr. Game & Watch - has always seemed suspicious to me. No idea what's up with him._  
_4. King Dedede - he could be plotting something to make his kingdom better or something._  
_5. Bowser - because he's scary._

Ness paused over his notebook after scribbling down the number 6 in the margin. What if the person responsible for all this - if it was a person at all - wasn't a Smasher? Any character that had become an Assist Trophy or even a normal trophy or sticker had access to Smash Mansion. His head crowded with all the possibilities. Somebody smart enough to carefully disable an electrical generator and rob Samus of her power suit while she was still wearing it. Somebody potentially evil.

It could be anyone, he thought.

He added a note to his list:

_Ask Samus for more info._

Satisfied, Ness finally flopped onto his bed, rolled over, and went to sleep.


End file.
